A dog bite can happen in a matter of seconds, but recovering fair compensation for it can take a lot longer.
Your chances of winning a dog bite case often get decided in the very beginning based on how well you document your injuries.
In Ohio, dog bite claimants have an advantage most injury victims don’t get.
Under Ohio’s strict liability statute, a dog bite victim generally does not need to prove the owner did anything wrong; only that the dog caused the injury and that the victim was not trespassing or committing another criminal offense (other than a minor misdemeanor). You also cannot recover damages if you were “teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog on the owner’s, keeper’s, or harborer’s property,” according to the statute.
That makes it fairly simple to determine who was at fault. What’s not as simple, though, is the extent of the harm. That’s why proper documentation of your injuries is so critical to the case.
We’ll use our experience as dog bite lawyers in Columbus, Ohio, to walk you through exactly what to document and when to document it so you set yourself up for success.
7 Tips for Properly Documenting Dog Bite Injuries in Ohio
Below are seven tips to follow when documenting you or a loved one’s dog bite injury. None of what we recommend is guesswork. All of it can be used to build your case and prove the extent of damage the dog bite caused, whether physical, financial and/or emotional.
1. Start With Medical Care, and Keep the Records Coming
The first step is always to get medical attention right away, even if the wound looks minor. Dog bites carry a real risk of infection, nerve damage, and complications.
From a documentation standpoint, this visit creates the first official record connecting the injury to the dog attack.
It basically creates a timestamp that’s hard to dispute later.
From there, every follow-up appointment, every specialist visit, and every note from a doctor about ongoing treatment becomes part of the record.
Even if the case doesn’t look catastrophic on paper, documenting all medical visits matters to the case’s outcome. You don’t need to have life-threatening or permanent injuries to have a dog bite case worth pursuing.
2. Photograph the Injury, and Keep Photographing It
A single photo taken right after the bite is valuable, but don’t just stop there.
If you can take a series of photos of the injury over the following weeks and months, your case may become even stronger.
This is because dog bite wounds change a lot as they heal. Over time, you can see:
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- Bruising and swelling shift, with the worst often coming a day or two after the bite before gradually fading.
- Stitches come out, which will make the wound look noticeably different.
- Scarring that becomes more or less visible over time.
Photographing the injury at regular intervals (right after it happens, during treatment, and once at maximum medical improvement) creates a visual timeline that shows exactly what the victim went through in their recovery journey.
This is especially important in cases involving visible scarring, since a claim’s value is often tied to how permanent and how visible the resulting injury is.
In one Ohio case, a young child attacked by a dog trained (without her family’s knowledge) to be aggressive needed years of reconstructive surgery, and the ongoing medical documentation from that treatment played a key role in securing a multimillion-dollar recovery under the dog owner’s insurance policy.
3. Keep a Record of Every Medical Bill (Even Small Ones)
Dog bite injuries often come with an array of costs, including emergency room visits, stitches, follow-up wound care, physical therapy, and sometimes reconstructive surgery.
All bills, insurance statements, and explanations of benefits should be kept, even the small ones.
Once you start talking about bills and health insurance, things can get a little confusing. It helps to understand the process early, so you document everything correctly.
Health insurance, if it’s used to pay for treatment, doesn’t usually cover the full bill. There’s often a gap between what the insurance company pays and what the patient still owes.
It’s also worth knowing that if health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or certain employer-sponsored plans paid for treatment, they may be entitled to be reimbursed out of any settlement or verdict, a process called subrogation. Your attorney can help with this process.
4. Document Lost Wages and Missed Time
If the dog bite was serious enough to miss time at work, that’s a recoverable loss and it needs a paper trail.
You can use pay stubs, a letter from your employer, or a simple log of missed shifts and appointments to help establish the missed time.
5. Don’t Overlook the Emotional and Behavioral Impact
Physical wounds are apparent. The emotional impact of a dog attack isn’t always as visible, especially for children.
One recent case Cooper Elliott took on in Ohio involved a young boy attacked by a dog at a family member’s home.
Though his physical injuries weren’t the most severe we’ve handled, ongoing behavioral changes after the attack led his family to seek counseling, a cost that’s part of what thorough documentation can help recover.
Take note of an increase in a child’s fear of dogs, sleep disruption, or behavioral changes after a dog attack. It can be an important part of proving any psychological impact caused by the attack.
6. Preserve Anything Relevant From the Scene
At the scene of the attack, you should take note of any witnesses, getting their names and contact information, if it’s safe and possible to do so.
If animal control or the police responded, ask for a copy of the incident report. If the attack happened on someone else’s property, note who owned or was caring for the dog at the time, since Ohio law holds the owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog responsible. Your attorney can help identify these people.
In one Ohio case Cooper Elliott represented, a woman was fatally attacked by two dogs with a documented history of aggression, including prior warnings issued to the owners and at least one earlier attack on another resident.
That documented history became central to holding not just the owners, but the property manager and county dog warden accountable. Read more about this case →
7. Know What Insurance May Be Involved
Homeowners and renters insurance policies frequently provide coverage for dog bite claims. Coverage isn’t automatic, though.
Some policies exclude coverage for certain dog breeds considered high-risk, which can affect whether a claim is covered at all.
Coverage can also depend on who is legally considered the dog’s owner, keeper, or harborer at the time of the attack, which matters most when someone other than the dog’s usual owner (a sitter or foster caregiver, for example) was in charge of the dog when it bit someone.
Identifying every available policy early is one of the most valuable things an attorney can do in these cases.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?
Generally speaking, the timeline for filing a dog bite claim is more generous under Ohio’s strict liability statute (six years) than it is for many other personal injury cases, and it can be paused, or “tolled,” while the victim is a minor.
The right timeline depends on the specifics of the case, including whether it’s being pursued as a strict liability claim, a negligence claim, or both. This is something worth confirming with an attorney early in the process.
You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out Right Now
If you or your child has been bitten by a dog, you don’t need to already have a pile of documents before you reach out.
Most people who contact us are still in the early, overwhelming stages of dealing with an injury, medical bills, and a lot of unanswered questions. That’s exactly when you should give us a call.
At Cooper Elliott, every conversation starts with an attorney. We’ll listen to what happened, help you understand what to document going forward, and walk you through the parts of this process that tend to be the most confusing, including medical bills and insurance.
For more than 30 years, our trial lawyers have stood with Ohio families after serious injuries, including dog bite cases involving children, elderly victims, and life-altering harm. In total, we’ve recovered $750+ million for our clients across all cases.
We work on contingency, which means there are no upfront costs and no hourly billing. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a dog attack in Ohio, call Cooper Elliott today at (614) 802-5943, or contact us online to get started.